CBA CEO Matt Comyn said businesses worldwide might begin tightening their belts on AI spending as early as this year, as the technology becomes more expensive and caters to more business outcomes.
Comyn said companies using AI will be more pressured to see a return on AI investment, particularly as data centre costs and workforce disruption place greater constraints on AI rollouts.
As a result, corporate AI tokens have increased in price, alongside the fact that these tools have greater “reasoning, the access to tools, the amount of context that you can put into it – your token costs do not scale on a linear basis”, he said, speaking at The Australian Financial Review conference.
“I won’t be surprised if over the course of this year, companies will be really scrutinising [the cost of AI],” Comyn said.
CBA has pushed heavily into the AI space over the last two years, using the technology for customer service, launching an AI companion for app users, and has been incredibly vocal on how AI should be used in Australia.
Just last month, Comyn said AI cannot just be a company cost-cutting tool, but something that needs to prove itself as a technology that can improve Aussie lives.
“Australia starts from a position of strength: a world-class research base, stable institutions, abundant energy and natural resources, predictable rule of law, and deep security partnerships. But strengths on paper are not the same as strategic advantage,” he said.
“We can build with Australian resources, data, talent, and enterprise, or become a permanent renter of intelligence from offshore.”
In the context of banking, Comyn said Australians are rightfully cautious, adding that it is one thing for a bank to deploy AI, and another for it to actually improve services.
“Australians are right to be cautious. AI is powerful, uneven, and often hard to explain. The test is not whether a bank can deploy the technology. It is whether customers can see safer payments, faster help, better decisions and support backed by human judgement,” he added.
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